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Cop Show Hurts TGs
By Kim Bourne
Ed. Note: Many of you reacted to the report here last week that Fox TV's "World's Scariest Police Chases" show had recently gone out of it's way to humiliate transgenders by mailing letters of protest to the network. Here is one letter we felt captured the feelings of most of us quite well.--Cindy Martin
4 March, 1998
Peter Roth
President, Fox Entertainment Group,
Fox Television Network
10201 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064-2606
Dear Sir,
On the February 17, FOX's show, World's Scariest Police Chases, aired a
segment which centered on transgendered people. The voice-over introduced
the piece by saying: "...they could be high, they could be insane, they could
be both. These suspects are so dangerous, so reckless, and so weird that
they make these chases unforgettable." Surely you must understand that while
the substantive content of the programming ‘may’ be considered entertaining -
the car chase - the attendant commentary was not only unnecessary but bigoted
and inflammatory.
Every day transgendered people suffer unwarranted discrimination and violence
at the hands of bigots, encouraged by programming such as this. A
transgendered woman recently became the latest in a serious of brutal crimes
when she was murdered viciously merely because of her status. This type of
incident is all too common. You should consider yourself and your network
contributors to the mentality that breeds this type of behavior. You should
also ask yourself whether Fox’s actions in this case may lead, directly or
indirectly to the next death when it happens, as it surely will.
As a transgendered person I find this type of ‘reporting’ insulting and
demeaning. I am a Vice President of a publicly traded Marketing, Advertising
and Communications Agency. I have an MBA from the University of London and
have won the respect of my peers and the industry for my work. Work that
includes the creation and placement of the commercials that, regrettably,
afford your network and others like it the resources to produce this type of
sensationalist and hate engendering programming. Transgendered people are
your neighbors, family members, and friends. We are not "dangerous, reckless
or weird." This is considered hate speech and violates Federal law. I hope
you understand, in the position you are in, the gravity of such action.
I am also Communications Director of It's Time, Georgia!, a political action
and education group. As such I will be making it a priority to make our
members - who are, remember, your neighbors, family members, and friends -
aware of this type of treatment, and encourage them to consider boycotting
your network and its advertisers. In our opinion Fox has presented itself as
an organization that gives succor to, if not encourages bigotry. We entreat
you to air an immediate retraction of the comments made at the earliest
possible opportunity. We also suggest that you encourage your producers to
make themselves aware, both of the law regarding hate speech, and the
consequences, judicial and social, of such programming.
I look forward to hearing of your plans regarding a public apology.
Yours sincerely,
Kim R. Bourne
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